Using your smartphone with the Quest 3 is quite straightforward, but it’s only compatible with select phones.
Virtual reality is entertaining, and VR headsets have significantly improved in terms of features. For instance, the color passthrough on the Quest 3 can be beneficial when you wish to maintain some awareness of your environment while you’re energetically playing Beat Saber. However, it does come with some drawbacks.
If you resemble me, you probably have your phone close by at all times and frequently check it. The challenge with VR is that even with passthrough, it’s not always simple to see what’s displayed on your screen. And if you’re truly like me, then you might be essentially blind without your glasses but too determined to wear them with your VR headset, which makes the passthrough view even trickier to navigate when attempting to read text on your phone’s display.
Luckily, Motorola has introduced a solution for Quest 3 and Quest 3S users that enables you to utilize your phone within your VR headset. It can be quite useful, although it has its quirks, and not everyone will be able to use it.
What is Smart Connect?
Earlier this year, Motorola released its Smart Connect app on the Meta Quest 3 as a straightforward method to stream and manage your phone from within your headset. For those who don’t know, Smart Connect was introduced in 2024 as a rebranding of the company’s Ready For software, which had previously been launched in 2021 and effectively acts as Motorola’s equivalent to Samsung DeX.
Smart Connect allows users to link their phones to computers or external displays to access their apps, share media across devices, and even control several devices using a single mouse and keyboard.
It’s a remarkably handy application, and it offers several features that make it an incredibly practical tool for extending your apps, content, data connections, and additional functionalities across different devices. It even allows you to utilize your phone’s camera as a webcam for your computer, making it a highly adaptable suite.
On the Quest 3, Smart Connect isn’t as advanced as what you’ll experience on linked displays and computers, but it does offer two primary functions: app streaming and mobile desktop. The first enables you to stream individual applications, while the latter provides a desktop-like interface, including notifications, windowing, and more.
Getting set up
Setting up Smart Connect on the Quest 3 or Quest 3S is relatively straightforward. Naturally, you’ll need a Motorola phone for this to function.
Begin by downloading the Smart Connect app from the Horizon Store. After that, follow the prompts to initiate the process of linking your devices, which will necessitate scanning a QR code on your phone.
Launch the Smart Connect app on your phone and hit the + button in the upper corner. Choose VR headset, then select Continue pairing, and you should notice a QR code appearing, assuming you’ve already started the process on your Quest. Position the QR code within the Quest 3’s viewfinder, and your devices will sync, preparing you to access your phone from your headset.
Using my phone on my Quest
The first feature I explored was app streaming, as it’s the most direct method to leverage Smart Connect. You can select virtually any app on your phone to stream to the headset, and it will open in a phone-like presentation. Additionally, you can use your phone to launch any app on your VR headset by swiping up and sending it to Smart Connect.
What’s fantastic about this is that you can continuously scroll, view videos, and even send messages directly from your headset. You can also maintain up to three open and active apps within one window and seamlessly switch between them. Some apps can be resized by rotating or using the resize button at the top, allowing certain applications like Gmail to be viewed in a tablet-like format. Unfortunately, this isn’t guaranteed, and not all apps will resize correctly.
For certain applications, like Instagram, you might find it more beneficial to use the native Quest app, as it’s better optimized for the VR interface compared to the Smart Connect version. Nonetheless, what makes this an appealing alternative is that you gain access to apps you couldn’t download natively on the Quest.
As a fan of YouTube Music, I’m excited to finally listen to my favorite tracks from my preferred music streaming services on my headset. Audio quality is excellent on the Quest 3’s speakers, and calls come through clearly, although this aspect can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming.
Then there’s the desktop mode, which effectively converts your phone into a computer. Similar to how it functions on connected displays, you’re greeted with a desktop-like home screen, featuring some app icons already visible on the desktop while others can be found via an app drawer.
This option is more versatile than app streaming, allowing you to open multiple applications at once, regardless of the orientation of the device. These apps open in windowed views, enabling you to arrange them as desired, much like you would on a computer.
Desktop mode also
